Firearm suicides among adolescents have increased in the US and rates vary across racial and ethnic groups. In this study, we examined contextual information around adolescent firearm suicides and analyzed how incident characteristics vary across racial and ethnic groups. We analyzed firearm suicides among adolescents (ages 10-18 years) from 2004…

Tracking trends in fertility and birth rates is essential in planning for the current and future needs of multiple generations. Sustained high fertility rates lead to disproportionately large populations of young dependents, driving demand for supports for young families, for additional schools, and for affordable child care. For example, during…

The "Kids & Family Reading Report" is a national survey sharing the views of both kids and parents on reading books for fun and the influences that impact kids' reading frequency and attitudes toward reading. "The Rise of Read-Aloud" is one installment the Scholastic "Kids & Family Reading Report™: 7th…

The "Kids & Family Reading Report" is a national survey sharing the views of both kids and parents on reading books for fun and the influences that impact kids' reading frequency and attitudes toward reading. "Finding Their Story" is the second installment of the Scholastic "Kids & Family Reading Report™: 7th…

Background: Bullying and victimization are ongoing concerns in schools. School health centers (SHCs) are well situated to support affected students because they provide crisis intervention, mental health care, and broader interventions to improve school climate. This study examined the association between urban adolescents' experiences of…

Introduction: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), which encompasses acts of domestic minor sex trafficking, is a hidden problem in the U.S. that affects an estimated 300,000 children. Significant health impacts to victims include violence, substance abuse, mental illness, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy.…

Teen childbearing has been generally on a long-term decline in the United States since the late 1950s. In spite of these declines, the U.S. teen birth rate remains one of the highest among other industrialized countries. Moreover, childbearing by teenagers continues to be a matter of public concern because of the elevated health risks for teen…

For more than 25 years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has used the data-based advocacy of KIDS COUNT to raise the visibility of children's issues and to inform decision making at the state and local levels. Building on this work and the efforts of other groups nationwide that are using indicator analysis to contribute to positive change for…

Objectives: This report presents preliminary data for 2011 on births in the United States. U.S. data on births are shown by age, live-birth order, race, and Hispanic origin of mother. Data on marital status, cesarean delivery, preterm births, and low birthweight are also presented. Methods: Data in this report are based on approximately 100…

Maternal influences on adolescents' sexual initiation have been examined over two time points in 433 Asian American-Pacific Islander (AAPI) adolescents in a secondary analysis of the Add Health data set using structural equation modeling. A longitudinal model built on a preliminary qualitative study is used to examine the fit between data and…

Although the positive youth development (PYD) model initially assumed inverse links between indicators of PYD and of risk/problem behaviors, empirical work in adolescence has suggested that more complex associations exist between trajectories of the two domains of functioning. To clarify the PYD model, this study assessed intraindividual change in…

Researchers have found an inverse relationship between immigrant status and violence perpetration. Most studies have examined Mexican immigrants, and few have assessed immigration factors other than nativity. Additionally, the majority have focused on the most serious forms of violence despite the fact that moderate violence is more common. Using…

In the United States, the interplay of racism, sexism, and acculturation creates psychological and social stressors that may affect the development of positive ethnic/sexual identities among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) adolescents. This article proposes a new model of identity formation theory for API gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender…

The present study examined consistency and inconsistency in adolescents' ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) across the 6 middle-school semesters. The sample (N = 1,589, of whom 46% were boys and 54% were girls) included African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Caucasian/White, Latino/Latina, Mexican/Mexican American, and…

This study tests two competing hypotheses regarding the social structural dynamics of intimate homicide: backlash versus collective efficacy. This study also examines the role of race in how social factors specified in each hypothesis affect intimate homicide. Data are from the California Vital Statistics and Homicide Data, 1990-1999. Results from…